Debby Padilla-Hudson wrote:

>>Good luck when he goes to school though- you'll have
>>to go through it
>>all again on a much bigger scale.
>>
>>
>
>I know, it's going to be hard but it's worth it!
>
>

Ultimately, children will have to decide for themselves what they want
to eat.  It is delusional for parents to think they can control this
fundamental aspect of life for long.  Consider the experience of Jewish
families trying to raise their kids kosher.  If the kids don't "buy
into" the idea, they won't do it.  Eating is an area where people soon
insist on autonomy.  Parents may control what their kids eat at home, by
controlling what's there for them to eat, but once they walk out the
door that's the end of it.  We may like to think that we can persuade
them to eat the way we want them to, but we have to consider things such
as the fact that teenagers still take up smoking, despite the best
efforts of parents, schools, and just about everyone to persuade them
not to.  Adolescents are not wired to make decisions that promote
long-term interests over short-term interests, which is why we don't let
them vote, force them to stay in school to a certain age, don't let them
drink until a certain age, and so on.

I'm not suggesting that parents should try to set a good dietary
example, and attempt to explain the principles behind paleodiet.  But I
think it's likely that most kids will go through a period where, as part
of discovering their independence (and of course at the same time
discovering peer pressure) they will defect from the paleo diet.  With
luck, the foundation laid when they were children will help them to
return to it as adults.

Todd Moody
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